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What's The Last Game That Hooked You?

Such a sh**** night. Rainy, foggy, windy, cold. It's nights like these that gamers will often curl up with the one game that is, currently, their go-to title.

I'm not necessarily referring to the game you think is the "best;" i.e., the best game currently in your rotation, or what you believe should've gotten more awards in 2011.

I'm talking about that one game, regardless of critic or peer influence, that just somehow grabs you and keeps you playing. In some ways, you're not even sure why it happened. Maybe it's a genre you don't normally enjoy, maybe it's a game that didn't start out promising but somewhere along the way, something clicked in your head...or maybe it's just so much fun, there's no reason to analyze it.

Come on, what ya got? I'm almost embarrassed to say that right now, it's Final Fantasy XIII-2. I almost can't dignify such a ridiculous statement with further elaboration. It's not a bad game - it really isn't; the 8.6 I gave it holds true - and they really did do a great deal to improve the gameplay and combat system this time around. But the story is sorta "meh" and in truth, I keep thinking I'm playing it for all the wrong reasons. "Wrong" in that this shouldn't be why I play a Final Fantasy title.

But nevertheless, there it is. Can't stop playing it. Just got Twilight Odin; gonna start maxing stuff. However, that being said, I should add that I really love the Vita and I've got a ton of games sitting here; I've done 7 reviews but just that many remain, and that doesn't include the downloadable vouchers I have. Oh, and I still need to deliver the Syndicate review and Capcom just told me Asura's Wrath is on the way. That, and I've got a chance to check out Journey this weekend.

So there's plenty to do. But right now, on a night like this, it just ends up being the go-to game... What's yours right now?

LOL, you know we have some mature gamers here cause there be talk of ye ole bowel problems. Im the same way so dont feel bad. Too many nights of games + pizza ended up giving me IBS. Seriously, I was diagnosed. Started eating a lot better after that.

In terms of games that I find myself compulsively playing and can't seem to stop, there's this little iOS game called Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor. It's a simple concept, a platforming game where you control a spider going from room to room in an abandoned mansion spinning webs and eating bugs. There are also clues hidden in every level that helps piece together the story of what happened to the former residents.

As for a game that completely engrosses me, that would be Mass Effect 2. Sadly I haven't had time to play a lot of games over the past year, but out of all of the games that I played, this was easily the one that wouldn't let me go until I explored every planet to find every mission. I've played and enjoyed games since then (Twisted Metal is awesome!), but none of them captured me quite like ME2 did.Last edited by 556pineapple on 2/24/2012 9:29:39 PM

Dark Souls still has me hook line and sinker. Im still on my 2nd playthrough and I just cant stop. Before Souls, ME2 had me so hooked I screwed up my gym routine..lol I know I can get the platinum for Dark Souls but my backlog is just too ridiculous right now and ME3 is out soon. oh boy..

Probably God of War III. The older I get the less interest I have in video games, and I find myself liking less and less games. There's very few games that still capture my interest, and GoW III was definitely one of them. Love that game.

It's sad how aging affects your motor skills. My dad used to be king of F-Zero. Now he breaks out in a sweaty rash on his neck when he plays GT5 (wish I were joking). One of my older gaming pals used to tear up TM2 on hard like it was nothing. Now he is playing Skyrim on easy. I used to be able to do Ninja Gaiden on very hard. If I tried that now I would scream, throw up, and pass out.Last edited by fatelementality on 2/25/2012 5:23:21 AM

Right now for me it's a toss up between Dead Nation and Batman AC. Dead Nation because of the fact that killing zombies is relaxing for me (well it is). And B:AC because of the fact that I'm on my new game plus and all I have to worry about are 4 physical challenges and not get sidetracked with a Riddler trophy I see gliding around the city. Now I can spend my time just beating up thugs. Love the combat so much. I'll be getting back into Dark Souls and Skyrim soon enough however seeing that I've been neglecting them both.

Twisted Metal's MP (despite some connection issues) has me hooked. For the most part it's what I've wanted since Black (FROM A GAMEPLAY PERSPECTIVE). It's all I've played for the last week and a half since it came out.

While the SP was disappointing, the reason the game was made is a complete success. Once those connection issues are ironed out, this is a multiplayer masterpiece.

Right now its Demon's Souls and Little Big Planet. I've already platinum'd Demon's Souls but being a completist, I'm collecting all forms of armor, items and every version of every weapon. I'm also working to reach the max level for my character, which is no easy feat.

LBP is really a great game. Aiming for all the trophies really gets me playing this game A LOT but its practically endless when it comes to thing s to do in it.

Uncharted 3 multiplayer.. Even though the gameplay and combat is so off (shooting someone in the head doesn't guarantee a kill anymore?) and bugged compared to Uncharted 2, I think the overwhelming potential it has is keeping me going. I'm a sucker for games that offer customization, though this one lacks it at the moment, the promise along with all the friends I made in Uncharted 2 that moved on to this one keep me playing it over and over.

Wow you're busy Ben. I've finally gotten bored with Skyrim, FFXIII-2 isn't grabbing me at all and against all odds I have gravitated to the F.E.A.R. series. Explanation to follow:

The horror really isn't that fantastic, the graphics aren't bad but they aren't the best, and in many ways the series feels kind of old BUT there's the rub. I realized that I miss the old school gameplay that FPS games used to have.

Currently we engage in one or another form of modern or futuristic combat that guides us on in a straight line through various firefights until the dramatic conclusion. I find this boring. In the days of old we had to think our way around obstacles, each weapon was very different from the others, we could interact with the environments, there were puzzles to be solved, and we felt like we were in control of a human body instead of skating on ice.

FEAR has all of that and I'm going to play all 3. Old school FPS ftw bitches.Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 2/24/2012 11:03:11 PM

Creds to you for mentioning FEAR! I love them too, those games are great.

All that's lacking to make them *stellar* is a long, good round in the polish machine. But the mechanics, the maps, the core game is really good. And you are right, it's got much of that classic fps vibe from back when you had to actually stop now and then to think and go, "so, what have we got here?" instead of just follow a rail holding the trigger down *cough*kz3*cough*.

Awwww, I remember when I was welcomed here with warm arms after being on the sidelines for so long. Think I've been coming here almost 5 yrs now. I'm sure that's nothing for some of you vets. Wish I would've found this site sooner. Earthbound was fantastic & Mystic Quest takes me back. Sadly almost forgot about MQ. Oh, and welcome. Come to think of it, I spent weeks sucked into Crisis Core. Do you know if they're working on an HD version of that at all Ben? If so, I can finally sell my PSP.

How in the world could I have forgotten about Borderlands? I was cracked out on that game for six months straight. And when I did start playing something else when I got to a point where I could save instead of going to bed I would pop in Borderlands and end up not going to bed lol. I foresee the same thing happening to me when Borderlands 2 hits. Oy...

I can't narrow it to just one. I can narrow it to a list of games that stand the test of time, these near always are in game playing principles. THe sort of games that create for you oppurtunites to feel like a genious for having thought it and executed it and most importantly the game allowed for it.

To jump in the air and eat a fruit with Yoshi's tonque and think to dismount him mid-air to leap and twirl sweep my cape at the bad guy above and glide myself down to carefully re-mount Yoshi to still have time to grab that 1up he deposited to the ground from having eaten a sequence of fruit in succesion.

Games that aren't story driven. Games that aren't surreal experience driven or content driven.

I have some gaming "shoulds" that must be in order to make my gaming hall of fame, otherwise they're not games, instead, they're something else. Something less important to me.

Some games that I've played that have immortalized themselves as being a game first and everything else second are the game I can come back to time and time again and revel in something that doesn't dull itself to the new... because, well, it's not a onetime consumable item that makes it's thrills known the first time or two at play and then ends as quickly in excitement as it did to draw your attention in the first place:

ive probably forgotten a few here. But these are they to which I speak. I don't need them to be production masterpeices, even if some of them are. I don't need them to be something for everyone. I don't need them to be technically sound in visuals. They just need to be amazing where it matters most: in their play. They're games.

Right now it's Batman. I have do many games in my backlog, but it seems like I can only play one of them for a few days before going back to either Arkham Asylum or Arkham City.

Historically though, there are 3 games that I can play over and over and over again. It doesn't matter how many times I've played them, if I ever can't find something to do, they're always there for me. These games are X-COM, Morrowind, and Civilization 4.

Props for X-Com. My bro loved that game and it was heralded amongst the PC gaming community as an all time strategy great. Which was quite the feat seeing that PC has been a mothership of strategy gaming greats.

Another one already mentioned above by someone was Homeworld.I'm more of an RTS fan, personally. Real time pressuring has its advatnages in competitive play. It's one thing to play a game to have all the time in the world to make your move and another to psychologically divert or slight through careful pressuring tactics which may/can cause the careful tactician to buckle and colapse under the pressure for having done so, yielding himself to losing control and making poor judgement.Sigh, WC3 days were grand moments in gaming back in the day. Today, it's impossible for me to set aside uninterrupted time to play online like that.

crap, i forgot i havent beaten skyward sword yet. not as eager to play it as previous zelda games and waggle is a big part of that. i'm not saying its bad, i just dont want to play it that way. also bought metroid other m for $10 new. right now, single player wise, hyperdimension neptunia has my full attention. i dont even get to post much here on psx.

Okay, so is skyward sword a great Zelda game? I read a rant editorial like a week ago from kotaku. The guy wrote a novel-sized explaination why Zelda's are worse today and are broken in design. Skim reading it I connected with some points but in others I questioned his resolve. What say you Jawknee?

Quite frankly it's the best Zelda game I have played. That guy from Kotaku is entitled to his opinion albeit a stupid one. The world is beautiful, the controls are nice and tight, the characters are lovable, the music is great, the puzzles and temples are impressive as always and the items acquired are fun to use and are useful throughout the entire game. I think a lot of people who are trashing it are either mad it's not in HD and that it doesn't has voice acting or they just hate the Wii, motion controls or Nintendo in general. I forone consider it one of the best games this generation and will say without shame I enjoyed it more than anything I have played on the PS3. I know some didn't like that Nintendo took a page from Metroid as far and the world layout goes but I liked it.

John, really it's not a waggle game like Twilight Princess. You have to learn the enemies movements and strike them with precision rather than just wiggling your arms. I still like using a regular controller for certain games but as far as Zelda is concerned, Nintendo nailed the controls and I hope they never return to buttons unless it's a handheld Zelda. I prefer motion controls for my console Zelda games here on out.Last edited by Jawknee on 2/25/2012 1:45:23 AM

best thing about skyward sword is its one of the very few wii games thats not a waggle fest!it actually made the game for me, i cant imagine having the same amount of fun with it if i had to use a regular controller.

Skyward Sword alone is certainly worth owning a Wii. Twilight Princess is a great game but playing it again after Skyward Sword, I hate the controls. That game is a waggle fest. It's better on GameCube. I hope Nintendo remakes Twilight Princess and Wind Waker for Wii U with Skyward Sword controls.

Sounds like a winner. My local rental store has it. I've wanted to try it on numerous occasions but because I don't have a motion plus adapter I can't until I get one. Maybe I can find one on the cheap

keep a eye out for the gold edition of the game.comes with a gold wiimote with motion plus built in, and here it was only 20 bucks more then the standard game.not bad for what would cost you 80 bucks separately, and its gold limited edition.

i cant really say that i have one game i go to and keep playing because this generation got me on overdrive. i buy game after game beat one and move on, minus the multiplayer parts. however, there are 3 games in my gaming rotation every day.

battlefield 3- its just fun especially with a full squad of friends. even when i crash my jet into light posts, apparently i'm pretty good at that. i just wish dice would let these light post be destructible since they really dont serve a purpose. i can outfly jet, helos, stingers but those light posts are accurate as hell.

white knight chronicles 2- play with highlander and his guild. i'm the weakest member compared to everyone in there but that just makes me want to play more.

Hyperdimension Neptunia- i just love this game, combat and actual feel. i just love playing it. wish that you can heal manually but its no big deal.

now this might change though. i still got atelier rorona, atelier totori, resonance of fate, and peacewalker/mgs2 still sitting on my shelf. not to mention neptunia 2 and tales of graces coming up. its the year of the JRPGS for me this year.

ohh and then sony decided to give us plus members about 6 games for valentines day. i dont know when the hell ill get to those.Last edited by johnld on 2/25/2012 1:11:56 AM

White Knight Chronicles 2 for me, lol could there be any doubt. We have folks like BurnedKnight from PSX in the guild and are chasing guild level 8. Therevis just so much to do in this game. Plus its all coop play, no pvp, so its all about supporting friends. awcesome gaming and lits of JRPG discussion.

I'd have to say the last game that had me hooked was God of War 2. I mean I literally had it in my PS2 for 4 months straight if not longer.I mean I literally could've and probably still can write a guide book for it lol. I beat it more times than I can count. It's pretty bad when I can do every line in the game without even playing it. But it's still no where near as awesome as the original. Damn. Now I want to go play them.

zelda skyward sword.only game ive played this generation which i really could not live without!ive enjoyed allot of games, infamous and AC2 would be my 2 picks from this gen.but id give those away in a heartbeat if i could wipe my memory and experience skyward sword for the first time again!

Man, there's been so many great games out there over the years, that I'm finding it hard to think of all my biggest favorites.

But off the top of my head, right now I'm heavily addicted to infamous 2. I'm trying to all the shards (only 4 more to go), pigeon drops(4 to go) & all of the side mission, plus I'm also trying to do every user generated mission too. The hours in I2 just fly right by(8to12 hours fly by every time I blink) & it pisses me off that I even have to stop to take bathroom, eating, and/or sleep breaks, LOL.

BTW, I have no doubt that when I finally get into my huge backlog of games, that I'll find the Fallout & ME series just as highly addictive too.

The very simple social game "Bejeweled 3" also takes up a mass portion of my time, got over 400 hours in & am past level 62 right now in just in B3's "classic mode" so far.

I also have a simple little PS Mini I put on my PSP that I can't put down, called "Urbanix". The object is drive your tractor from one side to the next without any bad guy's cars crossing over your line before you've reached another side line. Each time you succeed, a street or section of town & dwelling spring up. You also use your tractor to make traps & once you've got them all trapped into the smallest space possible before the time limit's up, you win that mission. There's also a series of pick ups & traps that help & hinder your progress. Plus there's flying sharks that try to mess with your timing & wrecking ball cranes that try to knock down your freshly made sections of housing. You can chase them off, but it does make your time limit all that more important.

Here's two other games I just have to include in my list too....FarCry 2(58 hours in)GTA4 (130+ hours so far)

My honorable mention award has to go to "MGS4"

And my 2 retro "Blast from the Past" games would have to go to my Panasonic 3DO game called "Icebreaker", and my Intellivision game, "Burgertime"

Right now is FFXIII-2 for me as well.. If Ben gave it an 8.6, I'll give it a 9!. I like FFXIII-2 more than the original game! The gameplay of FFXIII-2 is very addictive.. It more than makes up for the less interesting story compared to the first one.. ^_^

Obviously Mass Effect 2 for me too - but I'd like to pinpoint one of the sillier minigames in ME2: Mining for resources!That was something I kept doing long after I had more resources than I'd ever need. It was fun in such a weird way (I mean, c'mon.... Scanning a ball, listening for blips on the radar... How fun can that possibly be), it was just *so* awesome to find a hotspot to place a mine on - it never grew tired!

But in all honesty I guess I would also have to add Wordfeud to the list. Such a silly simple game, and one part of me don't really understand why I keep playing it, but another just wants to do "just ONE more word... Just ONE more victory and I'll stop!".

Oh cripes I totally forgot my CURRENT hook: Kingdoms of Amalur! Of course. That is literary the last game that hooked me, since I'm still on it.

Then there is Saints Row 3 - new dlc came out last week and it's hilarious! - but that's a coop game so that sorta doesn't count. To hook up with a buddy is always fun in *any* game unless it's major suckage. And SR3 most definitely isn't.

For the previous couple of days I've ended up continuing Shogun 2. About 6 - 7 hours a day =\. But it definately was the most prominent moment of my Date clan career.

My clan were beyond mighty terrifying, we were planning to take Kyoto for the second time after the estimated 8000 casualties battle (which we failed) took place a decade or two ago. Suddenly I could feel one of my unfriendly also terrifying allies, the Hojo clan, attempting to sabotage my plans, eventually declaring war on our great clan. Our Daiymo may not have been honourable, but he was taking over Japan for the good of the nation and it's people, damnit! *stomps fisted backhand on table*

For months, no...years we fought petty disputes; they disabled my trade routes, so I raided their trade anchor points. They attempted to overtake our headquarters...but they failed to take the city beforehand; I could trust our Daiymo's son as inexperienced general to retaliate and plunder. They managed to break my record of zero general deaths. It was a brave and watery death.

I managed to convince 4 clans to go into war with them. Too bad, another black day struck us as the older brother (who was suffering illusions of grandeur) of my two legendary brother generals died in a comical accident in the overtaking of Hojo's remaining fort; they were soon eradicated by the Takeda clan...perhaps too fast for my liking.

The Takeda clan are now a huge threat to my overtaxed people and overrecruited soldiers. I face my most difficult struggle yet, however I have managed to occupy Kyoto. It was easy, especially when conquering the weakened state of what appeared to be Takeda's men after their phyrric victory over Japan's centre.

I AM NOW SHOOOGGUN! Our Daiymo died in that almost suicidal battle to regain his honour. He thought he could live a fierce life so his future generations could live a peaceful one, but it seems the Date's feudal days are not over yet...

Demon souls, by far was the best surprise this generation had to offer for me. The best RPG PS3 had to give that really brought that old school difficulty feeling again (difficulty I haven't played since Ghosts n' Goblins).

For me it is MAG. Even though I consider myself retired now I still play it a couple times a week. On my main character I have around 1,200 hours and my other characters have about another 500 combined between them. Even though Zipper and Sony have let the game fall apart, it still seems to be fun when you play with the right people.

Before MAG it was Battlefield 2: Modern Combat which I put around 3,000 hours into. If they would have released this on the PS3 like they did the 360 I would still be playing it, Dice you messed up there.

Im pretty sure that the very first game that made me 'addicted' was the arcade version of Super Mario Bros. It was in a lil diner near my school and I was 4. I didn't even know the controls so I died a thousand times b4 I found the jump button. Grandma, can I have a quarter? Okay Dear. Yaaaay. *Puts quarter in and Mario music plays* Da da da, dada dada........du du, dudu dudududududu. Grandma, can I have a quarter?

Honorable mentions: Defender of the Crown, Shadowgate, Star Fox, any Star Wars game ever, and Turtles in Time (the original, dammit.)

Not really sure. I guess any RPG with uncompleted side quest is always a good one for those shi$%& off days. I should also note that I can only play an RPG for a few hours before I need to mix it up with a quick 30min session of something faster. Any online FPS will do the trick and an honorable mention to Vanquish. Really do love that game.

Right now it's FFIX on the PSP. There are so many parts that I missed or just don't remember from the last time I played it. I'm currently resisting the urge to play minecraft. What an ingenious builder that game is. I'll have to start over when I get the new computer so why bother at the moment.

When I get home I'm going to set aside a day just for gaming. It's going to be exactly the kind of day Ben described and I can't wait.

didn't see anyone else mention it - Saboteur! Just something about Irish, Nazis, and Paris...not to mention blowing stuff up! Also Band of Brothers series, Skyrim, and BC1, BC2, and BF3 with my clan buds.

Shift 2 Unleashed. I played it for a couple months at launch and recently bought some DLC for it and have been playing it again for the last month. The Autolog feature is what really keeps me going - it displays your best times for each race on a board with all your friends' best times, so even after you win a race you can still work on beating all your friends. It's a tremendously challenging and rewarding game with the handling model set on elite. There are really deep and complex differences in the handling between each car. And there are SOOOOO many tracks to learn and master.

As of this last year? Socom 4. Weird, I know. I can't really explain it either, as PS3 and Xbox both have better offerings for shooters and multiplayer, IMO. But since its release last April, I haven't gone much more than a month without playing it.

Before that it was generally either some type of open world game (GTA4 or inFamous) or Halo Reach.

So funny as the last 3 games I have played have hooked me! First it was Final Fantasy XIII at 62hrs, loved it, couldn't stop playing it! Next it was Mass Effect 2 at 41hrs, just a pure joy to play and a fist pumping ending! Now it's Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning, currently at 30hrs and I have barely touched the main quest! So good and fun, I am totally hooked to the world/lore/graphics/sound/control and combat. Just became a Crusader! How perfect is that! Thanks Curt! It's a fantastic game!

Im fairly certain I have over 220 hours just in Oblivion, in just my warrior playthrough. At this rate Skyrim will be the same. I have at around 100 hours into Skyrim and havnt even touched the main quest. That game is scary addictive and insanely huge.

But my point is there's always some game that just keeps you coming back for more. There's been very few for me. But I can play Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, over an over purely because the story is so fun, and RDR was another game that just kept me coming back both for mp, and sp. But nothing like the elder scrolls games.

Skyrim for me. currently in my second playthrough. When Skyrim frustrates me, I hop onto MW3 and game with a few friends, and if anyones on BF3, I get on there. I'm just waiting to get my hands on UFC Undisputed 3. I put over 200 hours in UFC Undisputed 2010, and plan on doing the same with 3.

The Magic of Scheherazade, nuff said. That was my 1st captivating rpg. Never got into the whole Zelda thing since all my buddies owned it and talked about it nonstop. Would kill 2 see a decent remake of that. Ohhh that game was a love/hate relationship. Why u so mad shopkeeper? All I did was try to ste...I mean haggle w u.

Call of Duty 3 multiplayer minus the spawn camping, glitching and noobs-killing teammates. I pawn using the Kar98k rifle. I'm I the only one on this site that likes COD3 multiplayer?Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 2/25/2012 12:52:41 PM

I much preferred COD2 myself. 3 felt odd and clunky. The Kar98 was also my weapon of choice. Back then, me and a few others used to make fun of those who used the scoped Kar98, because it required much less skill to use. Ahhh, the good times!

With all the crazy things that's happening to COD these days, wish it went back to the game mechanics as COD 3 or previous one's with better graphics/bigger maps (doesn't have to be as big as the Battlefield games) and the errors fixed.

That game is pretty fun. I forgot I had it and now I might have to go jump back on it. I've only got like %28 of the trophies so I have a ways to go.

Card games like that have always been slightly addictive to me. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelists Of The Roses" had me hooked for quite some time, I think I put about 400 hours into it(and yet I couldn't get into the show, lol). I only stopped playing it because I picked up a PS3 and had found other games to play.

As a heads up, your going to be stuck at around 40% when you beat the game (that is not including the 100 battle challenge). Some trophies you can only get from playing against people online and buying booster packs. Each booster pack is 5$ and you have to buy tickets to play online. It is around 18 to 20 bucks for 100 tickets.

Since it is a 99cent game that is not all that bad, but I'm scared they might shut it down soon. Trying to get battles online is a pain in the butt. I haven't even used up all my free 10 tickets yet.

Btw, you should try Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. It is another download only, but you can get it on xbox and pc.

Yeah I haven't used a single one of the online tickets yet. I looked in the online menu and rarely ever seen anyone in there. Plus I was basically afraid of getting my ass kicked, lol. I don't mind the way they charge for the packs and the online tickets, since as you pointed out the game is only .99 cents so they need to make money somewhere.

I have the one Magic game that we got with PS+ and it was ok, but it didn't really grab me like Elemental or Yu-Gi_Oh! did. Granted it is the 2011 version so I might still give the 2012 version a go someday.

I have to say that Catherine is the last game that hooked me. I went back and finished everything in that game and I can't really explain why. I do love puzzle games. That is, puzzle games with a purpose. Not just: "Solve the puzzle to save the land of the tiny mushroom people!"

Games like Professor Layton, or Phoenix Wright. Those are the games that are tending to hook me these days. Games with stories and puzzle elements as well. I still do enjoy myself a good twitch game (I'm playing Wipeout 2048 right now on my Vita) but the ones that are most memorable these days are the one that hook me on a more personal meaningful level.Last edited by ZenChichiri on 2/26/2012 5:50:18 PM